New York State Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron has held Donald Trump in contempt of court for his failure to comply with a subpoena and turn over documents he was ordered to produce for Attorney General Letitia James”™ investigators. Trump is being fined $10,000 day until he complies. March 31 is the date by which he had previously been ordered by Engoron to turn over the documents demanded by the subpoena.
In reacting to today”™s decision by the judge, James said on Twitter, “In a major victory, a court has ruled in our favor to hold Donald Trump in contempt of court. Donald Trump must pay $10,000 per day for every day that he continues to defy the court’s order to turn over documents to my office.”
James’ office has been investigating Trump along with some of his family members and some of his companies for possible bank, tax and insurance fraud in connection with real estate holdings, including both the Trump Seven Springs Estate and the Trump National Golf Course in Westchester.“
James later issued a statement through her office saying, “Today, justice prevailed. For years, Donald Trump has tried to evade the law and stop our lawful investigation into him and his company”™s financial dealings. Today”™s ruling makes clear: No one is above the law.”
Judge Engoron issued his decision in court after a hearing at which Trump was represented by attorney Alina Habba. Engoron faulted the Trump side for not having demonstrated that they even searched for relevant documents. James’ investigators had specified certain locations where they believed documents relating to the investigation could be found.
